Sunday, June 28, 2020: Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Welcome to the CHS Vientiane Worship Service Resources


We invite you to take time this Sunday, in families or very small groups of friends, to responsibly share space to worship God together. 
If you are on your own, please be assured we are together in the Spirit and if you have needs, or just want to share concerns, please don't be afraid to reach out
and share these with the CHS community.  Contact details can be found on our church website at:  http://www.thechs.org/

Ideas for parents to use with their children at home can be found on this page (click this link).
~ Pastor Tony



Scripture Sentence
“Be generous to one another, tender-hearted,
forgiving one another as God in Christ
forgave you.”
                                     (Ephesians 4:32)


Collect
Almighty God,
you have taught us through your Son
that love fulfils the law,
grant us grace to love you
with all our heart,  
all our soul,
all our mind,
all our strength,
and to love our neighbour as ourselves;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.


Call to Worship
This is a place of welcome,
a place where all may find solace,
where all may celebrate,
where all are valued,
where all are loved,
where all find refreshment on offer.
God welcomes you here.
Let’s come to God in worship.

Response

Leader: Welcome.
All: It is God’s welcome.
Leader: You are valued and loved.
All: It is God’s welcome.
Leader: We offer you some refreshment.
All: It is God’s welcome.
Leader: Stay a while in this place.
All: It is God’s welcome.

Reflection
This is a place of welcome,
a place where all may find solace,
where all may celebrate,
where all are valued,
where all are loved,
where all find refreshment on offer.
God welcomes you here.
Let’s come to God in worship.
Amen.


Opening Hymn of Praise   
Only by Grace (MP914)

Only by grace can we enter,
only by grace can we stand;
not by our human endeavour,
but by the blood of the Lamb.
Into Your presence You call us,
You call us to come;
into Your presence You draw us,
and now by Your grace we come,
now by Your grace we come.


Lord, if You mark our transgressions who would stand?
Thanks to Your grace we are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.
Lord, if You mark . . .


Only by grace . . .


Confession
Our heavenly Father
thank you that you love us and care for us all the time.
We know that this week we have not always lived the way you tell us.
We have done wrong things and not done all the good things we should have done.
Only you can save us,
so please forgive us
and help us to live as your friends.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Silence

In prayer
we remember You invite us
to choose between the path of darkness
and the path of light,
and laying our sorrow and failure on the ground
we long for Your forgiveness to call us
towards life with You.
We wait to be reshaped
by the fire of Your Holy Spirit,
as new vigour spurs us
to walk with You.

Silence

God’s gift of eternal life has been given in Jesus Christ,
who offers us forgiveness from our sins,
and welcomes us to the way of holiness.
Amen


“If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
                                                            (1 John 1: 9)



Creed
We believe in God the Father,                 
Maker of all things.
We believe in his Son Jesus Christ,
Lord and Saviour of the world.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
giver of life and light.    
We belong to the Church,
God’s family everywhere.
Amen.


Bible Readings
First reading:  Jeremiah 28:5-9
Second reading:  Romans 6:12-23
Gospel:  Matthew 10:40-42


Children’s Song
Shout for joy and sing (MP927)


Shout for joy and sing your praises to the King;
lift your voice and let your hallelujahs ring.
Come before His throne to worship and adore;
enter joyfully now the presence of the Lord.

You are my Creator,
You are my deliverer,
You are my Redeemer, you are Lord;
and you are my healer.
You are my provider,
You are now my shepherd and my guide:
Jesus, Lord and King, I worship You.


Prayer for / with the Children
God of Abraham,
God of Isaac,
God present of Jesus,
God present in the lives of Your people,
You are the God of invitation.

Your invitation given to Abraham
called him to follow
trusting in the promises
that You offered.
Promises of a relationship
that would build a community
willing to share in the care of Your creation.
Jesus is your invitation.

An invitation
into a relationship with You,
where we recognise the value
of those we share the world with;
where we see You
and greet You,
in the hands and voices of others.

The Good News fills our imaginations
with the hope of living
as You would have us live,
welcoming the stranger,
caring for the outcast,
healing those who struggle with life,
bring new life from what has died.

Through the Holy Spirit,
Your invitation sounds
in least expected moments
and in the ordinary tasks of our days.
We are Your creation,
and in our turning to You
we trust You with our lives,
believing that with Your presence
our world can be transformed
to bring Your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
We pray this in Jesus’ name
Amen.


Sermon
*Bonus feature here is the midweek sermon from Bishop Rennis Ponniah of the Anglican Diocese of Singapore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECexgqBjy38


Song
I really want to worship You (MP795)
You laid aside Your majesty,
gave up everything for me,
suffered at the hands of those You had created;
You took all my guilt and shame,
when You died and rose again;
now today You reign in heaven and earth exalted.

I really want to worship You, my Lord,
You have won my heart and I am Yours.
For ever and ever I will love You.
You are the only one who died for me,
gave Your life to set me free,
so I lift my voice to You in adoration.


Offering
(Please do bear in mind that as long as we are still able to,
CHS is continuing to support various projects and people
in need and needs will likely increase during this time. 
You may want to set aside some money in an envelope every Sunday
and bring these to church when we next meet back at ARDA.)


Dedication of our Offering
God of all goodness and grace,
give us such confidence,
such peace, such happiness in you,
that your will
may always be dearer to us
than our will,
and your pleasure than our pleasure.
All that you give is your free gift to us,
all that you take away is your grace to us.
May you be thanked for all,
praised for all,
loved for all;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.


Thanksgiving
God of salvation,
we are surprised to discover
Your desire to have us as Your people;
we are surprised by the freedoms
You have bestowed upon us;
and from our surprise
we turn in thankfulness
to praise You
for Your trust in the choices we will make.

We are thankful for
our freedom;
the people who inspire us
with the story of faith they tell;
the gift of living
as a fellowship offering love
to the community.

Through Your grace,
may we be inspired
to live as those
who choose Your path of light
that the darkness of our fears and doubts
may be dispelled
by Christ’s presence.
Amen


Intercessions
Let us take our weariness and tiredness to God
who picks up those who have fallen
and raises up those who are brought low.
Bless those, good Lord,
who are bowed down
under the burdens they must carry.
We pray for those who are crushed by their responsibilities at work
and those who feel the pain of our world,
who marvel that others can seem so indifferent to it.
Help them to keep on going.
Bring supportive friends alongside them.
Give them tokens of Your grace,
fresh vision and courage
and signs of encouragement in their struggle.

Let us take our loneliness to God,
who delights to put the solitary into families.
God our Father,
bless those who are lonely
those who have grown old
and whom the passing years have taken
all their friends and contemporaries.
Bless those who are shy,
who find it hard to initiate conversation
and have never known real friendships.
We pray for strangers in a foreign land,
for asylum seekers and refugees,
separated by language and culture
from familiar ways and much loved customs.
We remember all those
who even in the midst of crowds feel alone.
Help the Church, we pray,
to be a place of acceptance and belonging,
a place of welcome and inclusion,
where all can find a home,
a listening ear, a friendly smile and a helping hand.

Let us take our sorrows to God,
who binds up the broken-hearted
and comforts those who mourn.
Bless those whose hearts are sore today.
Be very close to those
whose family circle has been invaded
and whose joy has been darkened by death.
We remember those who have lost loved ones
for whom they have cared,
whose needs they have met,
whose lives have been so intertwined
that they still listen for a voice
they will not hear again.
We remember wives who have lost husbands
and husbands who have lost wives;
parents who have lost children,
who find their homes strangely silent and empty now
and children who have lost parents,
who are confused by a world that seems
less secure and more frightening than before
and all who for whom
familiar places, and sounds and smells
awaken memories that bring tears in their wake.
Thank You for our faith.
May they rest in peace and rise in glory.

Let us turn to God in trust
and recommit ourselves to God.
Send us forth this day
with the joy that no-one can take from us,
the life which is Your life
and the hope that gives strength to our actions.
Help us to sing of our faith
and in that singing find our strength to go on,
trusting in Jesus who lived among us,
died for us and rose again
and who prays for us today,
even as we pray to Him.
In His name we pray,
Amen

*Additional Points for prayer:
Please pray for Tim and Michelle's co-worker Marcus C. from Malaysia and his children Elias and Elodie following the sudden passing of his wife Rachel last week. Rachel's parents live in China and won't be able to travel to Chiang Mai, where the family are based. We pray for God's comfort and strength for each day and particularly for the day of the funeral for the whole family in Thailand and China.

We also remember Jacob and Jessily's neighbours, a family from India. The family are hoping to be medi-vac'ed from Laos to India today, so that the wife can receive medical care and  treatment for her advanced-stage cancer. We pray for this family: husband, wife and ten year old son, that God would shine his light in the darkness they are experiencing in what has been an incredibly difficult time for them. May God bring healing, comfort and peace. May all their needs be provided for, including journeying mercies as they travel back to India.

Pray also for Matt Anderson from Sydney, Australia, who has been working in Xieng Khouang. Matt has had severe headaches and is currently in Alliance Hospital, awaiting transfer to Australia, to allow further investigation of his health issues there. He hopes to be able to fly out on Tuesday. We pray for Matt, that you will bring full healing to him and that the nature of his illness will be successfully diagnosed and appropriate treatment given. We give thanks for Matt, a young man who has left his family and friends to answer God's call to serve the people here. We pray for Matt and his parents and other family members to know God's peace at this time.

Please also remember Stephen from England, whose father's funeral takes place this coming Friday. We pray for Stephen, his brother Robert and step-mother Mary, that God would help them and support them through this time of bereavement. May they know the reality of God's presence with them and respond to the words of the Gospel, they will hear read at the funeral and put their trust and hope in Him. Praise God that the death of Stephen's father has brought Stephen and his brother closer to one another again after several years in which their relationship was difficult.

May God hear our prayers and help us to pray for others whom He brings to mind today and in the course of the week.

Let us pause for a moment to think of other people and situations we feel led to pray for...

Amen.


Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.


Closing Song
My chains are gone (MP1151)
1  Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me;
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see.

2  ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed.

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free,
my God, my Saviour has ransomed me.
And like a flood His mercy reigns,
unending love, amazing grace.

3  The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.
My chains are gone . . .

My chains are gone . . .

4  The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
the sun forbear to shine.
But God who called me here below
will be forever mine.


Prayer of Blessing and Sending
May the Lord bless you and guard you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
may the Lord look kindly on you
and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
in the name of Christ.
Amen